Jody Andre’s mother was appalled when her daughter decided to ditch her career in advertising to open a restaurant. “My mom said, ‘What makes you think you can take this nasty space and turn it into a successful restaurant? Do you know what that costs?’” Andre replied, “Mom, I was a tomboy growing up, I can figure out how to do this.”
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She and her friends loved Andersonville and its Mediterranean and Swedish restaurants, but always felt it could use a spot with more of “an American flair.” After a year of searching, she decided on a dingy space on Clark Street.
Tomboy opened to crowds in November 1996. “I never realized we’d be that busy. We thought it would be a small neighborhood place,” says Andre. While she originally planned to cater to a mainly female clientele, the patrons are pretty diverse.
–Laura Levy Shatkin
